Saturday, 24 December 2011

This week's Victorian Christmas cards are from a falling-to-bits scrap book I've had for years; so long that I can't remember exactly where it came from.

The book is dirty, battered and water damaged but the images it contains are interesting. There's a mixture of photographs dated between 1869 and 1873 - British churches and castles, houses, pagodas and foreign scenes, a few unidentified family groups - plus pages of Christmas, Easter and birthday cards, many of them with religious themes.

The festive season is almost upon us and I'd like to wish all my fellow Sepia Saturday participants a very merry Christmas and a happy and healthy 2012.

Saturday, 17 December 2011

This week's Sepia Saturday theme is about extravagant food ornately presented. As an antidote to conspicuous consumption now the festive season is almost upon us, I've chosen to show a couple of recipe books published in wartime Britain when many everyday foods including sugar, butter, eggs and meat were strictly rationed.

Here's the recipe for Christmas pudding from Food Facts for the Kitchen Front. I can't say that it sounds particularly appetising!

War and Peace Christmas Pudding

Mix together 1 cupful of flour, 1 cupful of breadcrumbs, half a cupful of suet, half a cupful of mixed dried fruit, and, if you like, a teaspoonful of mixed sweet spice. Then add a cupful of grated raw potato, a cupful of grated carrot, and finally a level teaspoonful of bicarbonate of soda dissolved in two tablespoonfuls of hot water. Mix all together, turn into a well-greased pudding bowl. The bowl should be not more than two-thirds full. Boil or steam for at least 2 hours.